Deathly Hallows Missing Moments: Ron and Hermione
by hermionejean30
Summary: Deathly Hallows from the perspective of Ron and Hermione. Mostly moments that I've thought of that seem to be missing from the book itself, especially about Ron and Hermione falling in love. Also about their friendships with Harry and Ginny.
1. Chapter 1

Ron didn't understand girls. At all. It was almost as though they were a separate species, he thought sometimes. When he was younger, it hadn't really mattered, but now, at seventeen, he had been wishing for years that he knew, at least a little bit, what went on in girls heads sometimes. That was why he was so grateful that Fred and George had given him _12 Fail Safe Ways to Charm Witches._ Just like he told Harry when he gave him a copy for his birthday, Ron thought this book was pure gold. There were some spells and potions recommended to get witches to fall in and out of love with you, but what Ron really needed had nothing to do with wandwork. Besides, he thought it was unfair to manipulate anybody's emotions by magic, especially after that incident with Romilda Vane's spiked cauldron cakes fifth year. All he really wanted to do was _understand_girls, after all. And the book had plenty of chapters to help him do that.

Hermione arrived at the Burrow a week before they were scheduled to get Harry from the Dursleys'. She went there because she had no place else to go, as she'd modified her parents' memories so completely that they'd forgotten they even had a daughter. Doing that was one of the hardest things Hermione had ever done-it made her realize exactly how much she really did love her mum and dad, and also how real the possibility of her death was. But Hermione knew how important the mission was, and besides, she would be with her two best friends the whole time. Harry was like her brother and Ron...Ron was her best friend, but there was something more, too. Or at least she wanted there to be something more.

When Hermione arrived at the Burrow, Ron knew immediately that something was up. He was a lot more perceptive than a lot of people seemed to think-he could tell that something major was bothering Hermione. The minute they got some time alone together to catch up, he asked her what the matter was.  
"Oh, Ron, I've had the hardest time. I had to put a memory charm on my parents in case something happens to me. I've made them believe they're Wendell and Monica Wilkins and that their dearest ambition is to move to Australia. And now they have. And I know they'll be okay, you see, Wendell and Monica Wilkins haven't got a daughter, but I just..."  
And here she started to cry. Ron wasn't sure what to do, he tentatively put his arm around her and patted her shoulder. He wanted to do something more, but he wasn't sure what sort of action this type of situation called for. So he just patted her shoulder until she calmed down, and then it was time for dinner, anyway. Ron decided he would have to read _Twelve Fail Safe Ways to Charm Witches_more carefully tonight, especially the bits about how to act when a girl is upset. He needed some major help in that area.

Hermione was glad that she always shared a room with Ginny when she came to stay at the Burrow. Ginny was her best girlfriend, and as much as Hermione loved Harry and Ron, sometimes one needed some good old-fashioned girl talk. When your two best friends were blokes, there was a definite lack of opportunity to chat about things like love, gossip, and period pain. On a few occasions, Hermione had tried to imagine how Ron would react if she complained to him about cramps or severe cravings for chocolate. She concluded that it wouldn't be pleasant, and therefore neglected to mention anything of the sort around him or Harry.  
But Hermione could definitely talk to Ginny about that sort of thing, especially now that they were older and the eighteen month age gap between them didn't make as much of a difference. Ginny was the only person Hermione had told about how she thought that, perhaps, she might be in love with Ron Weasley. Hermione also knew exactly how cut up Ginny had been when she and Harry broke it off at the beginning of the summer. Hermione supposed that, when you'd loved someone from the moment you first saw him at the age of eleven, it would be devastating to have to break things off with him, even if it _was_ because he had to go off and save the wizarding world. Ginny was tough, probably as a result of growing up the youngest and only girl in a family of nine, but she wasn't so tough that having her heart broken was painless. More than once during her stay at the Burrow before she, Ron, and Harry went off on their hunt for Horcruxes, Hermione had woken up in the middle of the night to quiet sobbing. When this happened, Hermione got up and conjured some hot water for tea and poured two cups, giving one to Ginny and drinking the other herself. She would sit on Ginny's bed with her until the crying stopped. It was difficult to know what to say to make Ginny feel better, seeing as Hermione knew Harry had done it for a really good reason, she couldn't exactly tell her that he was a prat and it didn't matter. To Ginny, and to Harry, it mattered very, very much.


	2. Chapter 2

Upon closer examination of _Twelve Fail Safe Ways to Charm Witches_, Ron was pleased to see that he hadn't botched comforting Hermione over her parents too much. Chapter 6, "When the witch in your life is upset...", had many methods of soothing a girl when she was sad or angry, the foremost of which being "a hug, a handkerchief, and a hand"-he was supposed to put his arm around her, offer something (preferably something clean) to mop up her face with, and offer his help with whatever the problem happened to be. One out of three wasn't so bad, Ron figured, considering what a tactless dunderhead he knew he tended to be. Next time, he would do better.  
Ron was excited at the prospect of an adventure when Moody explained the plan for getting Harry to him, Hermione, and all the others who were to be a part of it. He may not be the most charming or the smoothest bloke, but Ron was an extremely loyal and dedicated friend; he had no problem risking his life impersonating Harry. The one time a slight hint of doubt passed through his brain came as he watched Hermione, looking attractive and vulnerable at once with her long hair braided down her back, transform via polyjuice potion into Harry. It made Ron realize that the possibility of her being killed was real, and the only thing that kept him from trying his hardest to keep Hermione from risking her life was the fact that she would be with Kingsley, who would obviously do a far better job than Ron could at keeping her safe.

Hermione was out of her mind with worry. Harry had gotten to the Burrow safely, George's ear was mending, and Hagrid was hiccupping drunkenly over by the chicken coop, but none of the others were back yet. As much as Hermione loved the other Weasleys and respected the rest of the Order of the Phoenix, her thought kept jumping back to Ron. She wouldn't let herself think of what losing him would be like. She kept thinking she saw his red-haired, freckly head and long lanky body coming up over the far hill, then realizing it was only an early-turning tree waving around in the distance. If he was gone and they'd never have a chance to-well, Hermione wasn't letting herself think that far.  
There! A flash of blue and...there he was! Looking scared and exhausted, but alright. Hermione couldn't contain herself any longer. She threw herself into Ron's arms.

Ron's mum was furious. But apparently this was normal lately, according to Ron and Ginny. Apparently all of this wedding stress, on top of worrying about Voldemort, on top of all the other things Mrs. Weasley worried over even under normal circumstances, had pushed her nearly to the edge. Then, when Ron and Hermione told her that they would not be returning to Hogwarts in September (in response to her question of whether Ron needed her to lengthen his school robes again), well, Hermione supposed that final straw had done it. Now they were constantly tiptoeing around, trying in vain not to unleash the wrath of Mrs. Weasley. This led to the extreme difficulty Hermione, Harry, and Ron had rendezvousing for even a second to discuss their plans to hunt for horcruxes.

Ron wished to Merlin's high saggy left arse cheek that somehow they would have avoided letting Mum know about their dropping out of Hogwarts until the instant before they left. She was in a right unbearable state-he, Hermione, and Harry hadn't spoken in private for more than a minute since Harry had arrived; Mrs. Weasley was making it totally impossible with dozens of _mental_ chores for them to do-Ron had no idea what the point of half of them might be. There was no use degnoming the garden now, as the gnomes would all be back before the wedding. And he wouldn't even get started on all those wedding presents...his mum wanted them arranged _just_ so, and it seemed nothing was perfect enough. Not that this was a change for Ron: it seemed nothing he _ever_ did was perfect enough. Or even good enough. Or even mildly mediocre. But that was why it was good that he had _Twelve Fail Safe Ways_, with its help, maybe he could be good enough to win over Hermione.


End file.
